Ministry of National Defense Announcement... Permanent Deployment Plan for Aircraft Carrier Strike Group
The United States has decided to deploy additional warships and fighter jets to the Middle East to defend against Iranian attacks on Israel.
According to major foreign media on the 3rd, the U.S. Department of Defense announced on the 2nd (local time) that it will strengthen its defensive posture in the Middle East by deploying additional cruisers and destroyers capable of ballistic missile defense.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on the day, "I have ordered an adjustment of U.S. military posture to improve the protection of U.S. forces, increase support for Israel's defense, and ensure that the U.S. is prepared to respond to various contingencies."
The background for the U.S.'s additional defense support, including warships, is the recent assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of the Palestinian armed faction Hamas, within the territory, which has heightened the risk of a full-scale war between Israel and Iran.
Additionally, concerns about retaliation have arisen regarding the killing of Fuad Shukr, a senior commander of Hezbollah, an Iran-aligned armed faction.
Earlier, Iran declared a three-day national mourning period and stated it would "impose severe punishment" in response to Haniyeh's assassination.
The U.S. military also reinforced its deployment in April when Iran attacked Israel with drones and missiles. At that time, Israel and its allies reportedly shot down most of approximately 300 drones and missiles.
Israel has not directly mentioned the party responsible for killing Haniyeh, but Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated, "Israel has dealt a tremendous blow to the enemy."
The U.S. Department of Defense reported that Secretary Austin emphasized that further escalation is not inevitable. U.S. President Joe Biden also reaffirmed the commitment to Israel's security while stressing that Prime Minister Netanyahu must seize the opportunity for negotiations to ease tensions in the Gaza Strip.
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